Friday, July 31, 2009

**I'm sorry I haven't uploaded my Hawaii photos on Flickr just yet. I will blog about my trip to Kauai soon. I hope you enjoy this post**

I recently went to Ross for I don't know what, but whenever I go there, I always end up with some fantastic finds aka: stuff that I think I need but it just takes up a lot of space and I only ever use it probably once or twice a year. Whew!

I can only think that was a Brioche pan- $4 it is made in Italy and it just looks so gorgeous- and that stainless steel cake plate for $8. I could not pass that up.

And who could pass up these hilarious tin trays? $3 each when they are originally $15.00- I love 'em both because they make me smile=)

Okay, now on to the pantry raid. I am going to have to take a picture of my pantry sometime. It is packed with all kinds of packaged edibles. I have cleared it several times to donate to my local foodbank, but I somehow manage to fill it all back up. Any who, my pantry pick on this day was this:Akora Bahlsen Dark Chocolate Jam filled Gingerbread cookies, Cake Mix, and some chocolate morsels.

I bought the cookies because my husband loves gingerbread cookies and it was only .99 cents at the grocery store. It didn't taste that great so it stayed in the pantry. I always have a stock of box cake mixes and chocolate morsels because sometimes I like to practice cake decorating and give the cakes/cupcakes away to family and friends.

What better way to use my new brioche pan for this experimental concoction i'm about to bake. It might even look like a giant cupcake! Well, lets see how it all goes down. So I mixed the cake according to package directions, chopped up the gingerbread cookies, mixed it into the batter and then added the chocolate morsels. Now i'm going to prepare the brioche pan. Here is a tip I learned from my cake decorating class. If you are baking in a pan that is 3" deep or larger than an 8" round, you will need to use a flower nail or a heating core to get the center of the cake to bake. Here is my pan and flower nail greased with baking spray and ready for the cake batter. Into the oven at 350 degrees. This took about an hour and 20 minutes to bake. The edges cooked first, but it still came out looking great- except for when I tried to get it out of the pan. A big piece came off, but it shows how nicely the gingerbread cookies and chocolate morsels baked into it. I ate that broken off piece and I tell you- it was absolutely DIVINE! It didn't come out how I expected it to look like (like a big giant cupcake), but it sure was delicious- my husband loved it and had it with coffee, and had some more after that.**i'm sorry for this horrible, blurry photo, but I was so excited to eat a slice after seeing that melted chocolate piece in the middle of the cake, do you see it....OMG, soooo goood!!!*** I sliced it up and I told my husband to bring it to work because I was eating more than my fair share. I wrapped it up for him to take to work and I struggled not to take some for myself. I think I may have sneaked a slice before he left.

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comments:

That looks so good!! You are so creative. I have been wanting to go to Ross, my friends go there all the time but i still haven't made it over there. One day.... Anyway, i love the shape of the cake after you took it out! Beautiful!! :-)

Avanika- Yes, I agree~ and they are so very convenient to use. I actually like the taste of some boxed cake mixed too=)

Shannon- You have to go to Ross, my other secret store I love to shop at and not tell anybody about is Marshalls because they have such great deals. I believe its the overstock and out of season items from higher end stores that include Nordstroms=)

I can't wait to see your Kauai pictures. It's one of my most favorite places on earth. I hope to return soon...very soon. I would like to invite you to participate with me in Crock Pot Wednesday. Come post a slow cooker favorite.

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Hello, my names Kendra. :)I love baking (and I also love your blog). I seem to be having a problem lately, because every time I bake cupcakes the middle rises while the rim does not. My cupcakes end up looking like aliens... see for yourself.

http://i47.tinypic.com/2mnfxw1.jpg

I use Betty Crocker cake mix and I follow the directions perfectly, yet they've been coming out so strange lately?

Ahaha you're right those trays are hilarious! Not to mention cheap, they're really good finds...good job!

And what else could make cooking and baking even more funner but using new stuff we just bought :D hehe!

Looks really good btw, i just wanna eat all of that! ROAR.

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